Goleman's 6 essential leadership styles

(originally posted on stoicleaders.com)

If you are not familiar with Daniel Goleman, you should add two books to your reading list: 

1. Emotional Intelligence
2. Primal Leadership

Goleman wrote Emotional Intelligence in 1995 and the topic soon became top of mind for leaders and change agents across the world. In 2002, he wrote Primal Leadership, where he took the principles of emotional intelligence and merged them with leadership styles and their impact. Both are essential reading for any leader, new or experienced. 

THERE ARE 6 ESSENTIAL LEADERSHIP STYLES

Goleman says, “When leaders fail to empathize with, or relate to the emotions of, a group accurately, they create dissonance. The resulting collective distress then becomes the group’s reoccupation, displacing the attention they need to give to the leader’s message – or to their mission.” He also states, “Dissonant leaders sometimes may seem effective in the short run – they may get a coveted promotion, for instance, by focusing on pleasing their boss – but the toxicity they leave behind belies their apparent success… dissonant leaders are the bosses that people dread working for.” To summarize, a leader is best served to live in resonant styles of leadership and use the dissonant styles only when the situation requires it. You might be asking, what are resonant and dissonant leadership styles?

Goleman’s research found that there were 6 basic leadership styles. These styles should not be confused with the types of leaders, like authentic, transformational, or servant, but are more like skills that are used at different times. He found that the most effective leaders could use all 6 styles at different times noting that the situation dictated the usefulness of each style. Also, the styles are divided into 2 categories: resonant and dissonant. Resonant styles promote positive workplace culture, whereas dissonant styles can lead to negative environments if used too much or in the wrong situations. 

LEADERSHIP STYLES IN A NUTSHELL

Adapted from Primal Leadership, 2002, p. 55.

RESONANT STYLES

Visionary – Moves people toward shared dreams.

• Visionary leaders inspire others through a clear image of what is possible and where the organization is headed. they do not dictate how the vision is to be achieved, thereby freeing the individuals to innovate and maximizing buy-in from the group.

Affiliative – Creates harmony by connecting people to each other.

• Affiliative leaders build and nurture relationships. They exude collaborative competence and value the emotional needs of employees over work goals. 

Coaching – Connects what a person wants with the organization’s goals.

• Coaching leaders “help people identify their unique strengths and weaknesses, tying those to their personal and career aspirations.” They help individuals identify goals and co-create a plan for achieving those goals.  

Democratic – Values peoples’ input and gets commitment through participation.

• Democratic leaders rely on utilizing the input and recommendations from individuals to guide actions. They build on three emotional intelligence abilities: collaboration, conflict management, and influence. 

DISSONANT STYLES

Pacesetting – Meets challenging and exciting goals. 

• Pacesetting leaders drive for achievement by continually looking for ways to improve performance. When used with a motivated team, pacesetting can help get high-quality results when driving toward an exciting goal. Too often, pacesetting leaders are driven by numbers as opposed to focusing on the emotional needs of the team. 

Commanding – Soothes fears by giving clear direction in an emergency. 

• Commanding leaders are also known as coercive leaders. They are dictatorial (in the micromanagement sense, not the tyrannical sense) and lead with a “do it because I say so” disposition. This style is often successful in times of crisis and emergency and is an effective way to soothe fears when times are uncertain. However, this style erodes trust and usually comes at the expense of developing individuals on the team. 

WHICH STYLE IS MOST IMPACTFUL?

As mentioned before, the most effective leaders use all 6 skills. They primarily reside in one or two of the resonant styles and use the dissonant styles only when necessary. In my opinion, there are 2 styles to learn immediately: visionary and coaching.

Leaders have a vision. Leadership implies a destination is present. Without a vision, leaders are not leading, but instead are shepherding followers in a stale pasture without growth. Sheep do not get inspired to act. But followers want to be inspired, and you will only get their best effort when their motivation is maximized. 

Coaching is a skill all leaders must learn. Leaders do not scale through micromanagement, but through unlocking potential in others. Coaching is a skill to make this happen. Also, the communication skills learned through coaching practice lead to better affiliative and democratic behavior. If you are new to coaching, check out The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier. It is a great (and short) book that will kickstart your skills as a coaching leader. 

Over time, practice all the styles. But remember that some styles will breed a positive culture, and others, if overused, will crush it. 

Thanks for reading. 

Until next time…

Clark